MCD elections: Voters report conflict between choosing party or candidate

New Delhi: On 4 December, residents of Delhi went out to vote in the high stakes elections of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. The contentious elections between the two leading parties; AAP and BJP has been the highlight of discussions across the capital, with AAP fighting for its maiden victory and BJP looking to ensure its fourth term in the civic body.

People across the national capital visited the several polling stations set up by the State Election Commission on 4 December to cast their votes and decide the fate of the political wing of the MCD. Though, several voters reported that they were conflicted between choosing the candidate or the party. While loyalty to political parties has always been a huge deciding factor in who comes to power within the MCD, this time around voters were also looking closely at the candidates that were running.

I.N Chabra, 87 said that "We have seen the work of the party (BJP) previously, which is why we hope that they come into power again". But opposing his view, an 45 year old voter said "We are voting for the candidate this time and not for the party, the party does not care for colony or areas development but the candidate has lived with us and knows our concerns, which is we are choosing candidate over party this election".

Many voters remarked that they don't even know the candidate running from their areas, but will go and press their party's symbol as they have done in previous elections.

A senior voter, D.K. Goyal said: "If we vote for a candidate and they don't work, it's not the party's fault, it's the candidate's fault. We are looking for overall development which can only happen if the right party is voted in and not the candidate".

However, dismissing the need to vote for a party for 'overall development', Meenakshi, 67 said that "We know the candidate, we have seen them work in and around which is why we we are going to for the candidate because they are concerned about our needs and wants at the level of a councillor, they know we need street lights in our colony, parks need more equipment and what not, they have our immediate issues in mind."

While the voter turnout for this year's election was surprisingly low, only 50.47 per cent, despite the SEC several efforts, people were found filtering in and out of the polling stations all day.